Isn't the internet amazing? I was reading an interview with the late great Dave Cockrum, who was a very influencial artist on me when I was young, especially with his work on Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes.Dave said his dad brought home a copy of Boy Comics with Crimebuster when he was seven years old. The artist/writer/editor on that book was Charles Biro.
Now, I've never heard of the fellow before today, but with the internet, I can get a sample of his art, and read about Biro's life on wikipedia. I can imagine the world he lived in, especially when you consider a current television program, Mad Men, about Madison Avenue advertising culture.
More than that, I can share that interest with you, for whatever it's worth.
I've been thinking about Blogs lately, and their ability to quickly share details on any range of subjects. So why not make a blog about comics, or at least my reflections on them.
Biro appears to have been pre-comics code authority, which means that comics were still pretty much up to the imagination of their creators, and to the will of the free market. Comics like these, sold like hot cakes. People couldn't get enough.
This was a strange time in our history. I grew up with only regulated comics that were expected to set examples of good triumphing over evil, and all that, which in stories is reassuring, because it's very antisocial to believe that crime pays. It certainly doesn't present a realistic portrayal of the world, but it does appeal to an individuals need for justice in their perception.
I think Cockrum, in his art, projected a sense of Biro's pre-code art, in a palatable way that appeal to this perception.
It's hard to say whether the Comics Code was good or bad, in retrospect. They may have been influential in defining the counter-culture to a degree, because there were clear cases of great talent that were being suppressed, that needed an outlet. While people could agree with the need for regulation to prevent the worst of the abuses which were becoming far too common. On the other hand, people tend to seek out the creative and excellent, which exists outside of any regulation's confinement. There is a constant conflict between these forces, some threatening to tear everything down, while others strive to lift things higher. In the end, the Code basically disintegrated as comic creators sought to express their talents in smaller markets (which has had it's own negative consequences).
Perhaps this Comics Court blog is a way of seeking the best of both worlds, to acknowledge excellence while maintaining some sense of order in what receives praise and exposure.
For the moment, Charles Biro gets a big kudos for his work influencing Dave, and I'm sure, many others.
